Given that we are already in discussion about PSN I thought it would be time to discuss what features Live ought to have added in 2011 and where we could see it expand.
My view on features.
1. Cloud support.
I think it is past time that things like saved games get synced to the cloud for two major reasons. The first it gives you the ability to play the same game on the same profile seamlessly whereever you can find a networked Xbox 360. The second is that it gives you a backup in case your hard drive meets an untimely end. It is very distressing to lose dozens of RPG saves with hundreds of hours invested.
2. Clan friends list or user defineable seperate friends lists.
This way if you have a clan which has 50+ members you can have a seperate friends list so you can play with both your regular mates/friends and many of your online friends. That way you don't have 50 clan mates hogging your friends list which you only play certain games with.
3. Syncing of profiles to smart phones.
Since you carry your smart phone with you everywhere, why not let the smart phone itself carry the profile that way you don't have to go through the trouble of recovering your gamertag every time you move from one Xbox 360 to another.
4. Online bleeping rollout.
Why not make online a safer/nicer place for people without having to hear all those dirty nerds and their incessant cussing? It'll help broaden the market for online gaming. Personally most voice chat with PC gaming has been pretty tame but I hear horror stories all the time.
Now for expansion possibilities:
There is the obvious Windows Phone 7 route which they can take. However given the fact that Kinect would also make a pretty nifty/killer TV interface, why not go the Google TV route instead? They can expand their service both under the TV and they can engage in revenue sharing with the TV manufacturers and perhaps see a Kinect Xbox 360 integrated into the TV itself. It does seem like a good next step for many of the consumer electronics companies who are looking at differentiating themselves and at the same time gain access to much more consistant revenue streams.
Lastly I would like to see more of the Xbox Live content expanded out the rest of the world. It seems pretty pointless only giving the full Xbox Live experience to the one country. Surely the content makers themselves must realise that they are leaving a lot of potential revenue out there by not even offering their product for sale in many countries.
So what do you think?
My view on features.
1. Cloud support.
I think it is past time that things like saved games get synced to the cloud for two major reasons. The first it gives you the ability to play the same game on the same profile seamlessly whereever you can find a networked Xbox 360. The second is that it gives you a backup in case your hard drive meets an untimely end. It is very distressing to lose dozens of RPG saves with hundreds of hours invested.
2. Clan friends list or user defineable seperate friends lists.
This way if you have a clan which has 50+ members you can have a seperate friends list so you can play with both your regular mates/friends and many of your online friends. That way you don't have 50 clan mates hogging your friends list which you only play certain games with.
3. Syncing of profiles to smart phones.
Since you carry your smart phone with you everywhere, why not let the smart phone itself carry the profile that way you don't have to go through the trouble of recovering your gamertag every time you move from one Xbox 360 to another.
4. Online bleeping rollout.
Why not make online a safer/nicer place for people without having to hear all those dirty nerds and their incessant cussing? It'll help broaden the market for online gaming. Personally most voice chat with PC gaming has been pretty tame but I hear horror stories all the time.
Now for expansion possibilities:
There is the obvious Windows Phone 7 route which they can take. However given the fact that Kinect would also make a pretty nifty/killer TV interface, why not go the Google TV route instead? They can expand their service both under the TV and they can engage in revenue sharing with the TV manufacturers and perhaps see a Kinect Xbox 360 integrated into the TV itself. It does seem like a good next step for many of the consumer electronics companies who are looking at differentiating themselves and at the same time gain access to much more consistant revenue streams.
Lastly I would like to see more of the Xbox Live content expanded out the rest of the world. It seems pretty pointless only giving the full Xbox Live experience to the one country. Surely the content makers themselves must realise that they are leaving a lot of potential revenue out there by not even offering their product for sale in many countries.
So what do you think?
